Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Sri Lanka’s ambassador to France says “The Sri Lankan public paid him to use his capacity to think and write, not to play the role of a deaf mute.” In an e-mail interview, in the aftermath of the controversy over his being sent a fax by the External Affairs Ministry over alleged corruption issues after he made some statements (post-Geneva), he answers questions about what happened ... What did you mean when you said that some elements were trying to ‘white van’ your reputation?
By that metaphor I meant that some ruthless and unscrupulous elements were trying to target, abduct, disappear and eliminate my reputation.
Your metaphor of a white van may have been influenced by the spectacle of white vans in Sri Lanka. What is your position on the white van phenomenon? Do you accept that the phenomenon exists?
Your metaphor of a white van may have been influenced by the spectacle of white vans in Sri Lanka. What is your position on the white van phenomenon? Do you accept that the phenomenon exists?
The term ‘white van’ in its present meaning, and the white van phenomenon itself, arose during the 1980s during the JR Jayewardene administration’s counter-terrorist operations against southern radicals, especially the JVP. Judging by reports there are lawless elements, criminal elements engaged in abductions and murder, these simply must be brought to justice. In the aftermath of a thirty year war, such ugly phenomena do linger on in societies. This must be stamped out, uprooted, or else it can become endemic as in parts of Mexico, where this practice arises from the nexus between criminal elements and the drug trade.
You referred to Myanmar as an example of democratic reforms and suggested that Sri Lanka should learn from Myanmar’s experience. Your comparison between Sri Lanka and the military Junta in Myanmar, which held on to power disregarding the popular mandate of the 1992 election may have upset the applecart. What did you actually mean when you referred to Myanmar?
You referred to Myanmar as an example of democratic reforms and suggested that Sri Lanka should learn from Myanmar’s experience. Your comparison between Sri Lanka and the military Junta in Myanmar, which held on to power disregarding the popular mandate of the 1992 election may have upset the applecart. What did you actually mean when you referred to Myanmar?
